¡Listo!

I hate publishing more than one post a day, but since I've been incredibly busy and preoccupied lately, and since I'm leaving to go on another trip tomorrow night, I might have to.  I've been meaning to do this specific post for awhile, but am just now getting around to it.  It'll be short, but hopefully interesting!

So.  Something I did not expect from my home-stay experience, other than a crazy host mother (in a good way, of course), is that the house would function as a sort of extended-stay hotel for other exchange students as well.  When Chris (my roommate) and I both got to Marisol's house for the first time, there was already another student living with her.  His name was Fran, and he was from Germany.  I'm not sure where in Germany, though.  Anyway, he was cool, though very reserved and often just in his room when he wasn't out hanging around Sevilla.  The coolest thing about Fran is that we could communicate in two different languages, because he knew quite a bit of English as well as Spanish and German.  (We also assumed that he could speak Russian since evidently he has a very serious relationship with a Russian girl -- and he has small businesses in Russia too.  Crazy.)

When he left, it was sad for us, but it was sadder for Marisol, since he had stayed with her longer.  But we didn't have to wait for very long until the next European students came to visit.  This time, they were too students traveling with a big group of others from their school in France.  (At one point, they told us where they were from, but I couldn't really understand what they said, nor could I write it down for you if I tried.)  When they arrived, Marisol asked me if I wanted to go pick them up with her.  Naturally, I said yes, because it was exciting.  However, we quickly figured out that Sylvain and Brice (sp.?), both 16, spoke almost no English nor Spanish.  I had to help them buy cigarettes at one point, which was a minor bump, but when I had to explain the rules of the house to them, I got the blankest looks I've ever been given.  It was scary, actually.  Never in my life have I been more grateful to be able to communicate in more than one language than when I had to try to communicate with them.  Unfortunately, French is beyond my comprehension.  Even the simplest of words/vowel and consonant sounds.

This past weekend, Marisol got too more students staying with her, who also happened to be traveling through Andalucía.  (I don't really know how she signs up for these things, but I guess she seeks them out or maybe gets recommended to others by our housing coordinator, Ángeles.  Oh well -- it's how she makes her living.)  They had been here since Friday or Saturday; I don't know because I was in Madrid.  (Another blog post for later!)  And Chris was gone too, in Lagos, Portugal.  So Marisol was left with two more French students for a whole weekend on their own.  We feared for her, given how communication went last time.  We also feared for the French kids, seeing as how Marisol was about ready to punch through a wall when she couldn't communicate with Sylvain and Brice.  Luckily for everyone, Alejandro and Pablo Emilio (as they introduced themselves to me), both 15, knew a lot more Spanish (and English) separately than either of the other two did put together.  They were really cool, but I still didn't get to hang out with them very much since they had plans to go on excursions to places like Córdoba and Granada when I didn't have class.  (And when I didn't have a paper to write or a test to study for.  For the same class to turn in/take on the same day.  UGH.)  Oh well.  Here's a picture of all of us together (which, by the way, took 10 minutes longer to take than it should have due to Marisol's perfectionist-like fussing):

Anyway, as for more boarders, Marisol mentioned something about Italians, but I'm skeptical that they're still coming, because Ángeles didn't say anything about it when I met with her on Tuesday.  Though she did mention that I will probably be getting my own room when the Summer Session Tar Heels come to stay in Sevilla.  (YES!  Yay, privacy!)  So I suppose that's something to look forward to.

I'll post later too!  I promise!

Nick